Strengthening drought risk management and policy: UNESCO International Hydrological Programme's case studies from Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean

Water Policy ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (S2) ◽  
pp. 245-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Koen Verbist ◽  
Abou Amani ◽  
Anil Mishra ◽  
Blanca Jiménez Cisneros
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Risk Management ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Early Warning ◽  
Drought Monitoring ◽  
Drought Risk ◽  
Management Plans ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Eastern And Southern Africa ◽  
Monitoring And Early Warning

Droughts have resulted in significant socio-economic impacts in the regions of Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), especially in developing countries. The main gaps to mitigate its effects, identified in both Africa and LAC regions, include a lack of human and institutional capacity, a lack of access to relevant early warning information for decision-making, the identification of vulnerable communities within the countries and the integration of these two components into drought management policies. UNESCO International Hydrological Programme (UNESCO-IHP) has been providing support to enhance human capacity, policy guidance and tools to the countries to address drought-related challenges and this paper presents some examples. Through capacity building at regional institutions in Western, Eastern and Southern Africa, drought monitoring and early warning tools have been transferred and validated for inclusion into national climate risk management plans. In LAC, a drought atlas was produced to identify the frequency of meteorological droughts and the exposure of population to droughts. Also in LAC, national drought observatories were developed in two pilot countries, providing locally relevant and actionable drought monitoring and early warning information, socio-economic vulnerabilities and appropriate drought indicators for decision-making to strengthen current drought policies for these countries.

scholarly journals Enhancing Drought Monitoring and Early Warning for the United Kingdom through Stakeholder Coinquiries

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamie Hannaford ◽  
Kevin Collins ◽  
Sophie Haines ◽  
Lucy J. Barker
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Early Warning ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
The United States ◽  
Drought Monitoring ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Drought Preparedness ◽  
Monitoring And Early Warning

Abstract Drought is widely written about as a complex, multifaceted phenomenon, with complexity arising not just from biophysical drivers, but also human understanding and experiences of drought and its impacts. This has led to a proliferation of different drought definitions and indicators, creating a challenge for the design of drought monitoring and early warning (MEW) systems, which are a key component of drought preparedness. Here, we report on social learning workshops conducted in the United Kingdom aimed at improving the design and operation of drought MEW systems as part of a wider international project including parallel events in the United States and Australia. We highlight key themes for MEW design and use: “types” of droughts, indicators and impacts, uncertainty, capacity and decision-making, communications, and governance. We shed light on the complexity of drought through the multiple framings of the problem by different actors, and how this influences their needs for MEW. Our findings suggest that MEW systems need to embrace this complexity and strive for consistent messaging while also tailoring information for a wide range of audiences in terms of the drought characteristics, temporal and spatial scales, and impacts that are important for their particular decision-making processes. We end with recommendations to facilitate this approach.

Drought Risk Management in the Caribbean Community: Early Warning Information and Other Risk Reduction Considerations

2017 ◽  
pp. 431-450
Author(s):  
Adrian Trotman ◽  
Antonio Joyette ◽  
Cedric Van Meerbeeck ◽  
Roche Mahon ◽  
Shelly-Ann Cox ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Management ◽  
Risk Reduction ◽  
Early Warning ◽  
Drought Risk ◽  
Caribbean Community ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Drought Risk Management

Drought Risk Management in the Caribbean Community: Early Warning Information and Other Risk Reduction Considerations

2017 ◽  
pp. 431-450
Author(s):  
Adrian Trotman ◽  
Antonio Joyette ◽  
Cedric Meerbeeck ◽  
Roche Mahon ◽  
Shelly-Ann Cox ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Management ◽  
Risk Reduction ◽  
Early Warning ◽  
Drought Risk ◽  
Caribbean Community ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Drought Risk Management

scholarly journals Validation of the Hazard and Vulnerability Analysis of Coastal Erosion in the Caribbean and Pacific Coast of Colombia

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. 260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oswaldo Coca-Domínguez ◽  
Constanza Ricaurte-Villota
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Risk Management ◽  
Vulnerability Assessment ◽  
Coastal Erosion ◽  
Pacific Coast ◽  
Cultural Ecology ◽  
Coastal Hazards ◽  
Social Aspects ◽  
Traffic Light ◽  
The Caribbean

A hazard and vulnerability assessment of coastal erosion is an essential first step for planning and decision-making, because it is part of risk management and its results are in the form of easily interpreted traffic-light maps. For the analysis of the assessment in this work, a methodology is proposed which considers three components for both hazard (magnitude, occurrence, and susceptibility) and vulnerability (exposure, fragility, and lack of resilience), through a semi-quantitative approximation, by applying relative indices to different variables. This methodology has been adapted to analyze hazards and vulnerability caused by coastal erosion combining physical and social aspects. For the validation of this methodology, Spratt Bight Beach (Colombian Caribbean) and La Bocana beach (Colombian Pacific) were selected in order to have contrasting regions and to validate the application of the method over a geographical range. One of the most significant outcomes of the assessment of the degree of hazard and vulnerability is that the rating may represent different combinations of factors. It is therefore important to study and interpret the components separately, allowing us to propose corrective and/or prospective focused interventions at local and regional levels. In terms of vulnerability, the assessment highlighted the importance of cultural ecology as a factor of resilience to coastal hazards.

scholarly journals Toward Global Drought Early Warning Capability: Expanding International Cooperation for the Development of a Framework for Monitoring and Forecasting

2013 ◽  
Vol 94 (6) ◽  
pp. 776-785 ◽  
Author(s):  
Will Pozzi ◽  
Justin Sheffield ◽  
Robert Stefanski ◽  
Douglas Cripe ◽  
Roger Pulwarty ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Warning ◽  
Warning System ◽  
Early Warning Systems ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Drought Monitoring ◽  
Warning Systems ◽  
Management Plans ◽  
Monitoring And Forecasting ◽  
Global Coverage ◽  
Drought Early Warning

Drought is a global problem that has far-reaching impacts, especially on vulnerable populations in developing regions. This paper highlights the need for a Global Drought Early Warning System (GDEWS), the elements that constitute its underlying framework (GDEWF), and the recent progress made toward its development. Many countries lack drought monitoring systems, as well as the capacity to respond via appropriate political, institutional, and technological frameworks, and these have inhibited the development of integrated drought management plans or early warning systems. The GDEWS will provide a source of drought tools and products via the GDEWF for countries and regions to develop tailored drought early warning systems for their own users. A key goal of a GDEWS is to maximize the lead time for early warning, allowing drought managers and disaster coordinators more time to put mitigation measures in place to reduce the vulnerability to drought. To address this, the GDEWF will take both a top-down approach to provide global realtime drought monitoring and seasonal forecasting, and a bottom-up approach that builds upon existing national and regional systems to provide continental-to-global coverage. A number of challenges must be overcome, however, before a GDEWS can become a reality, including the lack of in situ measurement networks and modest seasonal forecast skill in many regions, and the lack of infrastructure to translate data into useable information. A set of international partners, through a series of recent workshops and evolving collaborations, has made progress toward meeting these challenges and developing a global system.

scholarly journals Embedding research into health services in Latin America and the Caribbean: experiences and challenges of the Technical Support Center

2021 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Víctor Becerril-Montekio ◽  
Pilar Torres-Pereda ◽  
Luis Alberto García-Bello ◽  
Jacqueline Alcalde-Rabanal
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Technical Support ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Joint Work ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
The Caribbean

This article describes the main models for embedding research and the successful experiences and challenges faced in joint work by researchers and decisionmakers who participated in the Embedding Research for the Sustainable Development Goals (ER-SDG) initiative, and the experience of the Technical Support Center. In June 2018, funding was granted to 13 pre-selected research projects from 11 middle- and low-income countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Paraguay, and Peru). The projects focused on the system-, policy-, or program-level changes required to improve health and build on the joint work of researchers and decisionmakers, with a view to bringing together evidence production and decision-making in health systems and services. The Technical Support Center supported and guided the production of quality results useful for decision-making. This experience confirmed the value of initiatives such as ER-SDG in consolidating bridges between research on the implementation of health policies, programs, and systems, and the officials responsible for operating health-related programs, services, and interventions. It highlighted the importance of both respecting and taking advantage of each context—and the specific arrangements and patterns in the relationships between researchers and decisionmakers—through incentives for embedded research.

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